UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA
ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE KNOWLEDGE FOR TOP MANAGEMENT
NIK HAZLIANA BT NIK ABDULLAH HAFAZ
Report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science (Information Technology) Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences
July 2013
APPROVAL
ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE KNOWLEDGE FOR TOP MANAGEMENT
BY
NIK HAZLIANA BT NIK ABDULLAH HAFAZ 2010612402
This dissertation has been corrected based on the recommendations by the examiner (DR.
SYARIPAH RUZAINI SYED ARIS) and approved for hardbound submission by the Coordinator, Dr Fariza Hanis Abdul Razak. This dissertation was submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science in Information Technology (CS770).
Approved by:
DR FARIZAfMMS^fibUL RAZAK Dissertation (SY§>799) Coordinator
July 2013
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
"In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful"
Praise to Allah SWT for HIS guidance and blessings in favour of giving me the strength and will to complete this thesis "Enterprise Architecture Knowledge for Top Management".
To my teacher, my mentor, my supervisor Assoc. Prof. Aishah Bt. Ahmad @ Abd Mutalib, my utmost gratitude and love for giving me a heart to understand wisdom;
To my husband, Muhammad Khairan Bin Sumali, my utmost gratitude and love for giving me a heart to find courage, faith, confidence and prudence in knowledge;
To my children, Muhammad Khalif Bin Muhammad Khairan, Khayra Hannah Bt Muhammad Khairan, my utmost gratitude and love for knowing;
To others, whom have enlightened me, I am greatly indebted.
Again, thank you, and for the knowledge that 1 am acquainted with, I am truly humbled. InshaAllah.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix
ABSTRACT x
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Research Background 1 1.2 Problem Statement 4 1.3 Research Aim 5 1.4 Research Objectives 5 1.5 Research Scope 5 1.6 Research Approach 6 1.7 Research Significance 6 1.8 Structure of Thesis 7
1.9 Summary 8
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 8
2.1 Top Management Definition 8 2.1.1 Top Management Commitment and Leadership 9
2.1.2 Top Management Notion in Enterprise Architecture 10 2.1.3 The Need for Enterprise Architecture Knowledge for Top Management 16
2.2 Enterprise Architecture 17 2.2.1 Enterprise Architecture Definition 17
2.2.2 Emergence of Enterprise Architecture 19 2.2.3 Scope of Enterprise Architecture 21
IV
ABSTRACT
Enterprise Architecture or EA continues to gain global recognition as the management tool that would improve organization efficiency and productivity and streamline operations. Realizing these benefits depend on extensive assimilation of the tool in the organization. Literature however found that lack of EA knowledge hinders the utilization of EA. It is posited that top management participation has a strong influence on the success of IS innovation assimilation in an organization.
Therefore, this research sets out to gauge EA knowledge required for top management to support EA usage. Based on a qualitative research methodology using a single case study approach, this research investigates on the top management roles and EA roles in an organization. The research then identifies the relevant roles and synthesizes the roles to determine the EA knowledge required for top management. A conceptual model of enterprise architecture knowledge is proposed that describes the relationships between the roles of top management and EA knowledge. The data analysis revealed two sets of EA knowledge for top management; business knowledge and technology knowledge. Findings from this research provide academicians and practitioners with knowledge of how to improve EA usage and a structured roadmap for understanding EA in order to achieve high business value.
